BCCI stops County players from training in India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a stunning decision by preventing County Cricketers from training in the country. Thirty players from the counties of Kent, Hampshire, Yorkshire, Durham, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan and Nottinghamshire, who were all set set to train in the sub-continent and get a feel of the local conditions, will now head to Sri Lanka to resume their training.

According to a report in United Kingdom's 'Telegraph', BCCI's decision was mainly because of India's 2-1 Test series defeat against a young England side at home. Joe Root, who came up with a splendid knock on debut in the Nagpur Test, was no stranger to the Indian conditions, having practiced extensively in the country. His knock, which denied an Indian victory, seems to have annoyed the BCCI.

Young England cricketers practicing in India to get used to the spinning conditions is nothing new with the Global Cricket School (GSC) in Pune having organized several trips in the past. However, the BCCI has now instructed the ground authorities, where the GSC is based, not to allow foreign players to use the facilities without official permission. In case of these 30 County players, the permission has been denied.

The 'Telegraph' also claimed that this is an extension of an ongoing tussle between BCCI and the ECB. The England Performance Programme side was in India at the same time as the England team, who were playing a Test series in the country. Steven Finn had played for the EPP side against Mumbai in November in order to prove his fitness. Joe Root was also part of that side and had scored 166. This had irked the BCCI, who felt international cricketers like Root and Finn participating in matches meant for developmental sides was unfair.

BCCI's decision has taken everyone by surprise and the move to prevent young English players from playing in the country seems all the more strange when several international players are part of different Indian Premier League teams.